Being Santa is the most stressful thing you can be

[SparkleSpangle]

Ok, so I started this same thread last year.

This is for all the adults sitting up waiting for their children to fall asleep so they can fill stockings.

Last year my DD could not get to sleep and I was up for hours after I was ready for bed waiting for Santa time.

So who's still waiting? How are you doing?

My youngest is 11 and knows there is no Father Christmas and this year I’ve made the executive decision of insisting stockings are left by the fireplace. He’s just gone up to bed, I’ll have it all done and dusted by 11 and will be tucked up in bed by then.
last year he knew the truth but hadn’t really come out and said it in so many words, stockings were in bedrooms and he was awake until 4:50 totally unable to sleep with excitement. He kept coming into my room every half an hour to tell me this.
Not happening this year! Eldest are 17 and 18, 17 year old is already in bed as she worked today, 18 year old said she’d help sort the presents out for under the tree etc!
Dh has just gone to bed after being a star and spending the last 3 days on full kitchen prep mode, can’t complain.

Oh god the buggers are still awake 🤦‍♀️

This year we are with family. The stockings are downstairs by the mantelpiece, the kids are upstairs in the bedrooms. The gifts were all pre wrapped. Easy!

Having said all that, I’m tucking into Santa’s calvados and might be a while before I actually get moving 😂😂

Genius!

mine are asleep and I’m off to bed - this is a record! Only because I’d actually wrapped everything ahead of Christmas Eve this year.

This is when the 2 stocking trick comes into its own. You can fill one at your leisure then they put the other one out when they go to bed. Then you just swap. Make sure the stockings are kept in different places I was 27 when I learnt there were 2 stockings.

Bloody genius!!!

You can totally get away with this one at 2, he won’t remember a thing except that Christmas feels lovely!

My two year old is tucked up asleep and I’m having the most gorgeous newborn cuddles with his little brother.

This is probably my last Christmas without children who are too excited to sleep but I’ve set the stockings out at the dining table to have with breakfast anyway. Hopefully this will mean less creeping around in years to come!

Merry Christmas everyone 🍾

Am on my third large baileys and feel a bit 🤢
DH has covid and is fast asleep.

Children aren’t asleep yet and at this rate it’ll be hours before the stockings are filled and the final presents are wrapped 🥴🎄🥂

Question for those who do stockings upstairs.

Where does everything else from Santa go?? Or does Santa just do stocking?

In our house stocking stays by fireplace and everything else put there too, Santa only brings the 2-3 things on their list. Everything else comes from us.

Mine wakes up in the night so I'll have to wait until about 3am to do it. $#@!$$

We only do stockings and one gift from Santa. The gift is downstairs by the fireplace beside the empty plate and glass!

@Hugasauras you are a genius!

I’m with you all in spirit as mine are late teens/early 20’s now. I remember it well, all the wrapping on Xmas eve, trying to hide presents, moving them without rustling 😂 luckily my eldest insisted, from a young age, that there was no way she was having Father Christmas in her room at night so sacks and stockings were always left in the living room. Good luck to all you Father Christmas’s out there tonight 🍻

neurospicy

I like this

I feel so on edge, I hate this every year. My 9 year old went to bed at 10 and surprisingly hasn't shouted or been down since then so I'm assuming she's sleeping. But her presents and stocking fillers are in the car so need to go out but so worried she comes down when I'm in the middle of putting them out. Not sure when to start but would love to get to bed soon.

Mine went to sleep at 9, unusually for her. However her room leads from the lounge and DP saw fit to fill her stocking in there immediately she went in, so I had a struggle to keep her in there as she fought to go to sleep (otherwise would have let her up to get another book).

Now waiting for him to move so I can put her big present together. He's drunk and will just interfere, loudly, so I need him out the way.

Love the swap stockings tip, I've been on here >6 years and missed it
My six year old has challenged me twice this fortnight about FC being real, that seems so young! She's only just six

Duplicate stockings here - there’s no way I would’ve been filling 4 x stockings in the middle of the night.

I go to bed as normal, set an alarm for 4am and then switch them over. I always told my kids we were one of the last houses, so normally they are asleep by 10, and 4am means they don’t wait up for him, but it’s too early to get up. And worst case, six hours sleep is survivable !

Once I did it at midnight and they woke up - that was a long Xmas day……

My challenge now they are older is that they still want them on the end of their bed and ds1 is 6ft 2 !!

Two identical stockings. It's a life saver.
You know that there is enough to fill a stocking. It's all done and just needs a quick swap over.

One Xmas DC wanted to sleep downstairs. I threatened that Santa might not come if they were there.
Strangely enough my youngest still thinks they once did sleep downstairs but just didn't wake up

I'd like to thank the person last year who said the golden rule is stocking outside bedroom. We've put them on the landing under a small tree we have there.

DS doesn't sleep at the best of times.

He's still awake...

It's worth it though, just imagine their little faces in the morning to get you through.

I'm "lucky" this year in that we have a 1 year old who hasn't a clue and a 10 year old who no longer believes so not had this struggle today for the first time in years but I feel your pain 🖤

Mine are still both awake and I am tired and now dreading two horrible tired children tomorrow